Category: Business and Industry

BLONDER CO., one of the largest dealers in wallpapers and paints, was established in 1918 as the Milner-Blonder Co. by Nathan Milner and Harry Blonder. Milner had been a cigarmaker and Blonder a paperhanger; both lived on E. 37th St. near Woodland.

BLUE, WELCOME T., SR. (1867-24 May 1930), one of Cleveland's pioneering AFRICAN AMERICAN realtors and prominent community leaders, was born in Stillwater, Ohio.

The BLUESTONE QUARRIES were situated in the small village of Bluestone near the intersection of Green and Bluestone roads in S. EUCLID. In its heyday, Bluestone was home to about 400 people and contained a general store and post office, 2 saloons, a temperance hall, a church, and boarding houses.

BOARD OF TRADE. See GREATER CLEVELAND GROWTH ASSN.

BOBBIE BROOKS, INC., a leader in the production of women's apparel, was established by MAURICE SALTZMAN and Max Reiter as Ritmore Sportswear, Inc. in a loft in the Bradley Bldg. on W. 6th St. in 1939.

BONNE BELL, INC., founded in 1927 by Jesse Grover Bell, grew into a $50 million cosmetics business by promoting a wholesome image and a "Be fit. Look good." philosophy. Bell, a cosmetics salesman from Salinas, KS, came to Cleveland and began the company, which he named after his daughter. He made his products on a hot plate in his basement and sold them door to door during the Depression.

BP AMERICA, formerly the Standard Oil Co. (Ohio), which was the original Standard Oil Co. founded by JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER in 1870 along with his brother, William, HENRY M.

BRAINARD'S SONS. See S. BRAINARD'S SONS.

BRAINARD, SILAS (19 February 1814-8 April 1871) turned an avocation for music into a business that supplied Cleveland with much of its early musical scores and instruments.

BRASCHER, NAHUM DANIEL (24 May 1880-14 January 1945), a prominent AFRICAN AMERICAN journalist, educator, and community leader, active in Cleveland during the early decades of the twentieth century.

BREWING AND DISTILLING INDUSTRY. Cleveland's distilling industry dates almost to the city's founding. In 1800 David and Gilman Bryant are said to have operated a secondhand distillery, brought from Virginia, on the banks of the CUYAHOGA RIVER at the foot of Superior St.

The BREWSTER & STROUD FINE FURNITURE COMPANY in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was founded as a joint furniture and undertaking business in 1870 by A.J. Cole. In 1887, Cole sold the business to Clinton Eggleston. In 1889, Eggleston sold the business to Milton Brewster.

The BROADVIEW FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK began operation in 1919 with $350,000 and grew to be one of the country's top 100 savings and loans, with assets of nearly $2 billion. Broadview opened for business on 19 July 1919 at the corner of Broadview and Pearl roads with August E. Reister as president. It moved to larger quarters at 3344 Broadview Rd. in 1924. Under the direction of Edward J.

The BROADWAY & NEWBURGH STREET RAILROAD CO. (chartered on 26 Aug. 1873) began service on Christmas Day, 1873, providing transportation for workers of the Newburgh steel mills, running from Woodland Ave., where it met with other lines, east on Broadway to the Newburgh city limits.

The BROOKS & STAFFORD INSURANCE AGENCY agency can trace its origins as far back as 1850, when John G. Jennings arrived in Cleveland to begin work as an agent for Mutual Life Insurance of New York. In the 1860s, Jennings was joined by James L. Higgins and Henry M. Brooks, creating the firm of Jennings, Higgins & Brooks, which operated from the Atwater Building on Superior Avenue.

BROWN, JOHN (c. 1798-30 March 1869) reputedly became Cleveland's wealthiest African American citizen during a 40-year career as the city's most notable barber. Born of free parents in Virginia, he came to Cleveland in 1828 and in barbering took up a trade nearly monopolized in the 19th century by AFRICAN AMERICANS.

BROWN-FORWARD, INC., a funeral service company, was established in 1825 and is one of the oldest, continually-operating funeral homes in Ohio. The company was originally founded by Daniel W. Duty, who sold furniture and cabinets in addition to his undertaker services. Duty operated from a small office on the corner of St. Clair Avenue and Water (W. 9^th) Street.

The BRUSH DEVELOPMENT CORP., which became the world's largest producer of artificially grown piezo electric crystals, was organized in 1930 to market electronic devices utilizing the crystals, which had been developed in the Brush Laboratories. Located at E. 40th St. and Perkins Ave., the company, under the direction of president Alfred L.

The BRUSH ELECTRIC CO., established in 1880 to manufacture and sell the electric street lighting system developed by CHARLES F. BRUSH, traced its origin to Cleveland Telegraph & Supply, founded in 1872. Influenced by its major stockholder, George W.